BaerAbstracts

My paintings celebrate nature and the power of the spirit, which is reflected in natural forms and forces. In several disparate series of abstract works, I employ different means to express the beauty of light, the power of nature, or the grandeur of geological structures.

Currently, I live in Beltsville, Maryland, but I grew up near Buffalo, NY, which is an area with a dramatic climate. As a child, I was delighted by strong winds pushing against my face, flapping my clothes, and ripping through the air. To describe their movement, I make rapid, energetic strokes with my brush or arrange shapes, so they appear to be drifting or falling.

Growing up, I was surrounded by landscapes created by shifting tectonic plates and water. I played in shale beds made of fragile layers of rock. Recording history: these rocks were inscribed by water’s movement as they formed and contain fossils I collected in a jar.
Like shale, layers of paint document the history of a painting’s creation. I use the lower layers to influence the color of the top layers. I sometimes leave the bottom layer untouched to show how the painting began, or scrape through the paint to reveal what is below the surface.
While painting, I feel connected to the spirit, the force that creates order in the world. The spirit is revealed through geometric patterns in nature, builds and destroys, forms monumental landscapes, and guides us.